On Thursday night, Aberdeen host Rijeka in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League. The first leg of the tie in Croatia finished 2-0 to Rijeka. Aberdeen has a major task on their hands to qualify for the play-off stages.
It has certainly not been a good week for Aberdeen, as the Dons followed up last week’s first leg defeat with a 1-0 loss weekend against St. Mirren.
The first leg defeat also ended a promising run of form in the Europa League for Derek McInnes’ team, as they were four games unbeaten this season, having recorded three victories. However, Rijeka proved to be a superior class of team to their previous opponents.
The Dons have proven to be difficult opponents on their own patch in recent seasons in the Europa League, as they are unbeaten in 11 matches at Pittodrie. Both teams have also scored in five of their last six home games in the Europa League.
Like Aberdeen, Rijeka also suffered defeat in their last domestic game, going down 2-0 at Gorica in the Croatian top-flight. However, the visitors will feel they can bounce back from the defeat and do enough to secure their place in the next round of this competition.
The visitor's recent record in the Europa League is highly inconsistent, as they have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six games in Europe’s secondary competition.
Rijeka are unbeaten in three away games in the Europa League. However, they have also won just once in their last nine matches on their travels in European football’s secondary competition.
The visitors have been relatively prolific on their travels in the Europa League, though, scoring at least twice in four of their last six matches in the competition.
Forebet predicts that Aberdeen will level the aggregate scores and that extra-time or penalty kicks will decide the tie.